Benevolent One
Team Owner
Texas high school association drops Rocket as speaker
ESPN.com news services
Updated: December 17, 2007, 1:35 PM ET
Roger Clemens' inclusion in the Mitchell report sent shock waves through Major League Baseball, and the pitcher's popularity in his home state of Texas appears to be taking a hit.
The Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association said it has removed Clemens as the keynote speaker at its state convention next month, the Houston Chronicle reported on its Web site Monday.
The association's officers spent the weekend reviewing the matter before concluding that Clemens, a 354-game winner over a major league career that began in 1984, "was an inappropriate influencer to baseball coaches and students alike."
Clemens, who pitched for the University of Texas and came out of retirement after the 2003 season to pitch the next three seasons for the Houston Astros, was slated to be the convention's keynote speaker on Jan. 12, with the topic being "my vigorous workout, how I played so long [in professional baseball],". according to the Chronicle.
The right-hander, who pitched for the New York Yankees last season, was the biggest name linked by former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell to illegal use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. Mitchell's report was released Thursday.
Clemens, long thought to be the greatest pitcher of his era, is a winner of seven Cy Young Awards, eighth all-time in victories and a former MVP who has been considered a lock for the Hall of Fame. Since Thursday, whether he is deserving of the Hall of Fame has generated passionate debate.
At 45, Clemens has not said whether he hopes to pitch next season. Through his attorney, Rusty Hardin, Clemens denied he used performance-enhancing drugs.
" ... I respectfully suggest it is very unfair to include Roger's name in this report," Hardin said last week in a statement. "He is left with no meaningful way to combat what he strongly contends are totally false allegations. He has not been charged with anything, he will not be charged with anything and yet he is being tried in the court of public opinion with no recourse. That is totally wrong."
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
ESPN.com news services
Updated: December 17, 2007, 1:35 PM ET
Roger Clemens' inclusion in the Mitchell report sent shock waves through Major League Baseball, and the pitcher's popularity in his home state of Texas appears to be taking a hit.
The Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association said it has removed Clemens as the keynote speaker at its state convention next month, the Houston Chronicle reported on its Web site Monday.
The association's officers spent the weekend reviewing the matter before concluding that Clemens, a 354-game winner over a major league career that began in 1984, "was an inappropriate influencer to baseball coaches and students alike."
Clemens, who pitched for the University of Texas and came out of retirement after the 2003 season to pitch the next three seasons for the Houston Astros, was slated to be the convention's keynote speaker on Jan. 12, with the topic being "my vigorous workout, how I played so long [in professional baseball],". according to the Chronicle.
The right-hander, who pitched for the New York Yankees last season, was the biggest name linked by former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell to illegal use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. Mitchell's report was released Thursday.
Clemens, long thought to be the greatest pitcher of his era, is a winner of seven Cy Young Awards, eighth all-time in victories and a former MVP who has been considered a lock for the Hall of Fame. Since Thursday, whether he is deserving of the Hall of Fame has generated passionate debate.
At 45, Clemens has not said whether he hopes to pitch next season. Through his attorney, Rusty Hardin, Clemens denied he used performance-enhancing drugs.
" ... I respectfully suggest it is very unfair to include Roger's name in this report," Hardin said last week in a statement. "He is left with no meaningful way to combat what he strongly contends are totally false allegations. He has not been charged with anything, he will not be charged with anything and yet he is being tried in the court of public opinion with no recourse. That is totally wrong."
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
